See Also

The trick to setting liquor aflame in drinks
or food dishes is to prewarm the glass, cooking vessel, and liquor.
Preheat a spoonful of liquor, light it, then pour it into the
remaining liquor to be set aflame. 3

Proof expresses the proportion of alcohol in
a beverage as twice the percent. For example, a 100-proof beverage
is 50% alcohol. It derives from early days when "proof" of a whiskey
used in barter was to mix it with gunpowder to see if it contained
enough alcohol to burn. 4

Whiskey and whisky both refer
to alcohol distilled from grain. Whiskey is the usual American
spelling, especially for beverages distilled in the U.S. and Ireland.
Whisky is the spelling for Canadian and Scotch distilled
beverages. 5

Unlike beer and wine, all spirits are originally
completely clear and colorless; their golden browns and other
hues are the result of the aging process. 6

There is no worm in tequila. It's in mezcal,
a spirit beverage distilled from a different plant. And it's not
actually a worm, but a butterfly caterpillar (Hipopta Agavis)
called a gusano. 7

Bourbon takes its name from Bourbon County
in Kentucky, where it was first produced in 1789 by a Baptist
minister. 8

Rye was the first distinctly American whiskey.
It is distilled from a combination of corn, barley malt, and at
least 51% rye. 10

Gin is spirit alcohol flavored from juniper
berries. First made by the Dutch, it was called junever, the Dutch
word for "juniper." The French called it genievre, which the English
changed to "geneva" and then modified to gin. 11

Sloe gin is not gin at all but a liqueur made
with sloe berries (blackthorn bush berries). 12

Vodka ("little water") is the Russian name
for grain spirits without flavor added. 13

"Cocktails for Hitler" weren't drinks at all.
During World War II, distillers shifted all production to industrial
alcohol for the war effort. Hence, they were making "cocktails
for Hitler." 26

Tip:

To make colorful
cordials or brandy float in a layered pattern in
a glass, pour each ingredient slowly over a spoon
held bottom side up over the glass, being careful
to pour all ingredients in the order given in the
recipe.

The United States is unique in distinguishing
between "hard cider" and nonalcoholic "cider." "Cider" is derived
from the Hebrew shekar, meaning "strong drink." In referring
to unfermented apple juice, the proper term is "apple juice" rather
than cider. 31

No government health warning is permitted on
wine imported into any country in the European Union (Austria,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom).
32

In Welsh, the word for beer is "cwrw." Incidentally,
it's pronounced "koo-roo." 35

Rum was issued daily to every sailor in the
British Navy from 1651 until 1970. 36

In a martini competition in Chicago, the winner
was a martini made with an anchovie-stuffed olive that was served
in a glass that had been rinsed with Cointeau liqueur. 37

In Europe and North America, lower-status people
tend to prefer beer whereas upper-status people tend to prefer
wine and distilled spirits. In Latin American and Africa, lower
class people tend to drink homebrew, middle class people tend
to drink bottled beer, and upper class people tned to prefer distilled
spirits. 38

There are an estimated forty-nine million (49,000,000)
bubbles in a bottle of Champagne. 39

Vodka has been the largest selling distilled
spirit in the US for over 25 years and one of every four alcohol
drinks consumed in the world is vodka or vodka-based. 40

The strongest that any alcohol beverage can
be is 190% proof (or 95% alcohol). At higher proof, the beverage
draws moisture from the air and self-dilutes. 41

Foot treading of grapes is still used in producing
a small quantity of the best port wines. 42

A trokenbeerenauslese is a type of German wine
made from vine-dried grapes so rare that it can take a skilled
picker a day to gather enough for just one bottle. 43

A popular drink during the Middle Ages to soothe
those who were sick and heal them was called a caudle. It was
an alcohol drink containing eggs, bread, sugar and spices. 44

In Medieval England, beverage alcohol was often
served with breakfast. 49

British wine isn't the same as English wine.
British wine is made from imported grapes; English wine is not.
50

Drinking chocolate mixed with beverage alcohol
was fashionable at European social events in the 17th century.
51

L'Esprit de Courvoisier, a cognac made from
brandies distilled between 1802 (yes, during the time of Napoleon
Bonaparte!) and 1931, sells for $350 per shot (1 and 1/2 ounces).
Cognac is a brandy made from white wine grapes grown in the small
region of Cognac in southwestern France. 52

To show that their moonshine has high alcohol
content and is also free of potentially deadly contaminants commonly
found in the illegal product, moonshiners sometimes pour some
of theirs on a stump and light it. A clear blue flame indicates
high proof. Any other colors within the flame indicates that it
is contaminated. Why do people buy unpleasant tasting and potentially
deadly moonshine? Because legally produced distilled spirits products
are very heavily taxed, thus dramatically increasing their cost
to the consumer. 53